CROCODILE FARMING.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8833, 21 January 1907, Page 2

CROCODILE FARMING.

OPENING FOR COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE. So many people nowadays are on the look-out for new and profitable enterprises with a dash of romance about them that it is strange nobody has thought of crocodile-hunting in India as a pursuit in, which business and pleasure, pastime and profit, might be blended in well-balanced' proportions. The leather of the American, mugger or caiman has long been turned to a variety of commercial uses, being excellent for ladies' handbags and other sucß. fancy articles. The hide of the Indian crocodile was submitted some years ago to a leading Londoni fimi which deals largely in American ' "- ALLIGATOR LEATHER, but the firm pronounced an adverse opinion on the merits of the Indian skin for such high-class work as above referred to. But surely, if the hide of the Indian crocodile will not suit for high-class fancy work, it might be made to do for lots of other things, and perhaps its price would be in, its favour, seeing that in so many parts of India crocodiles are simply innumerable, and are to be had for the mere trouble of shooting or snaring them. j It may not be generally known, that j crocodiles and alligators, especially the young, are to an appreciable extent in demand in the United Kingdom and on the Continent among those classes of AMATEUR NATURALISTS AND PRIVATE MENAGERIE KEEPERS — and their number tends to increase steadily — who have a special penchant for roaring uncommon pets. Animal dealers in London charge ordinarily 10s for a young alligator about a foot long, while larger sizes are deaser, 30s or £2 being the usual price of an alligator about two feet long. Crocodiles are much more expensive, small ones Being worth 25s or more in the London market. It may be worth while, therefore, to establish a business, in the export of young Indian crocodiles, and this ought not to be at all difficult, for THE MOTHER CROCODILE can scarcely be described as a careful parent. Given a steady and constant demand for "baby crocodiles, there is no reason also why crocodile farming should not be systematically undertaken. We have heard of oyster farms snail farms, sponge farms, and even snake farms, so there is no reason why crocodile fanning should not be attended with success.